James Pyles's Blog, page 184
October 21, 2017
The Bulgarian Falcon
Zukovsky left Istanbul because of her. She would soon discover she’d stolen a fake. Then her employer would return using lethal means to get the item. He entered Bulgaria posing as a Jewish refuge, settling in Sofia just as Tsar Boris III plunged his nation into World War Two. “It would not be wise to leave Istanbul right now, Mr. Gutman.” […]
October 20, 2017
The Mauritius Robbery Affair: The Woman is Deadly
Chapter Five: The Woman is Deadly “Phillip is at football practice, but Marcie and Roger are right here, Ian.” It was good to hear Evie’s voice again. They’d divorced not because they lost their love for each other, but because of the stresses of his career. Even if he’d have quit MI6, his history with […]
Time is the Longest Distance
The Present: Project Retrograde “So, what’s going to happen when you throw the switch, Barnes?” Colonel John Kellaries was facing Project Retrograde’s senior temporal physicist Antoine Barnes on the floor of the main personnel time gate chamber. Next to him was his Russian counterpart and recent defector Mineyev Duskin. “Actually, it will be Mr. Lucius […]
What Are You Doing Tonight?
Laura and Simon were an unusual pair of private detectives. They were divorced last year after ten years of marriage but neither could bear to sell the detective agency they co-owned, nor was one willing to concede sole ownership to the other. So they continued to see each other day after day, night after night at “Marcus […]
October 19, 2017
The Mauritius Robbery Affair: Patterns
Chapter Four: Patterns In spite of Ian Dennis’s determination to keep working, he found his brain too clouded to concentrate on even the idea of addressing Krista Bernham’s work. Krista was a brilliant researcher with the unique gift of taking data which seemed absolutely unrelated and finding patterns that even the most complex computer algorithm […]
October 18, 2017
The Mauritius Robbery Affair: Tattoo
Chapter Three: Tattoo In the hospital parking lot, MI6 agent Ian Dennis was standing by the undercover police car and rapidly thumbing through photos related to the Krista Bernham murder case. “I know I saw it. I know I…oh yes, here it is.” He looked up at Winston Permalloo, his liasion with the Mauritius police force. “Don’t […]
The Remembering Tree
When Jake was seven, he and his brothers and sisters were taken away to strange lands, to forests and deserts, to where dragons and demons were found. He lived and lived and nearly died in those lands, fighting the war of restoration, of good vs. evil. But years had passed. When Jake was seven, he […]
Adventure’s Bitter Memories
Nine-year-old Taylor jumped grabbing the tree’s largest branch and pulled himself up. He danced among the leaves this way and that like cinematic swashbuckler’s of old, wielding his sword. “Taylor, Grandpa said it’s time for dinner.” Darn. His twin sister Paris. “I’ll be down in a minute.” “He said now.” The boy stopped and looked […]
October 17, 2017
The Mauritius Robbery Affair: Ian
Chapter Two: Ian “Good morning, lad.” Dennis peeked around the corner of the door so as not to startle the boy. He saw young Ian had been working on a sketch pad, probably the one that Winston mentioned. “Mind if I visit you for a bit?” The eleven-year-old eyed him suspiciously. His sandy blond hair […]
The Mauritius Robbery Affair: Arrival
Chapter One: Arrival Ian Dennis hated long flights, not because he didn’t like to travel but because he could never sleep while in transit. He was here to work and jet lag would get in the way. True, there was only a three-hour time difference between London and Mauritius, but the flight was nearly twelve […]
